Communications to an elected official by his constituents is normal and should be expected by Shores. If the communications were causing him health issues, perhaps a resignation was in order.) But, as Shores continues, more comes out that indicates that Shores was a part of a planned scheme, made well in advance of the meeting, to be the person to deliver the motion to orchestrate a change to the previously approved mask policy to hide the fact that a NEW edict from the school board, prepared in advance, was coming down and, for political purposes, the word “MANDATE” was NOT to be used.
Shores, aside from the fact that the paper he read the secretly chosen words that HAD to have been prepared in advance that Masks were to be worn by all students at school, the masks would be provided by CCS and the students would be allowed to put on new masks every two hours. Then Shores added words such that a student might NOT have to wear masks provided the parent fill out forms providing proof of Health, behavioral or disability to document the deviation from the full masking requirements. Rodney Fitch immediately “seconds” Shores motion. it was clearly apparent that Fitch had been preselected to make the second for the Shores motion in Luke’s planned scheme.
All this just proved to me that this whole production; the Emergency Meeting designation, No Public Participation on the agenda, the secretly planned Motion and all was a planned political scheme put together by Luke Queen and his small band of rogue Republicans for purely political purposes. Nary a thought on what was in the best interest of the students at CCS. Or the parents. Or the taxpayers.
Now, Shores had made the motion. It was seconded by Fitch and a quick and easy approval was likely expected.
WRONG!!!
Danny Blanton asked, what about mask requirements for the teachers? Dena Green wanted better described documentation for any exception to the full mask mandate. The discussion was on again, no matter how hard Luke tried to shut-down the discussion.
As I sat there in my second-row seat (you can see me in the video), I was reminded of a quotation attributed to German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck way back in the Nineteenth Century that said: “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.” In other words, the legislative process, though messy and sometimes unappetizing, CAN produce healthy, wholesome results.
The School Board factions, on both sides, were now actually having discussions without the threat of 5-4 votes always going Luke Queen’s way. Dena Green, so often silent, was going, tooth and nail, after what she thought was in the best interest of students. Danny Blanton was NOT being shut down anymore by Luke Queen. For now, anyway. And the Motion made by Joel Shores was being tweaked and adjusted so that just about every person that had spoken in the Public Participation segment of the meeting would likely have to agree that it covered everybody’s concerns as well as could ever be expected.
I thought this was finally the way government was supposed to work. Even the fact that the final vote, 7-2, was healthy because Blanton and Green voted NO because they did not get as much as they wanted regarding teachers and documentation. At least they voted “NO” without fear that they would be retaliated against if they didn’t go along with the majority. I was proud for all those that came out to speak during the Public Participation (No matter which side they were on) that was not intended to ever have happened in the first place. I was surprisingly proud that Phillip “Poodle” Glover had broken the back of Luke Queen’s corrupt attempt to shut down the public. I was even proud of myself for coming up with that hand-made Public Participation Sign-up Sheet that might have had some very, very minor part in how this “Emergency” meeting had eventually turned out.
Perhaps such as this will continue and be just as contagious in Cleveland County Governmental Meetings as the COVID has been amongst our population. I am not holding my breath for such as that to happen soon. So, I will continue doing my part to “agitate” for Good Government as much or more than ever. I hope that every citizen will join in with this effort. Especially at Election time!!!
Stay tuned folks. There is more to come. Much More!!
